Lake Constance

Lake Constance is famous all over due to countless reasons like beautiful sceneries, tourist resorts, Castles, Churches, museums, markets but one of the key reasons for its fame is its geography. It is largest Lake in entire Germany and at the same time, it meets with Austria and Switzerland.

Lake Constance is the third largest fresh water Lake in Central and Western Europe after Lake Geneva and Lake Balaton. The shoreline of the Lake is 270Km long, major part of the shores lies within the city of Konstanz, Germany. When we talk about the history of Lake Constance, according to researchers, it was formed by the Rhine Glacier 10,000 years ago, during the ice age. The shores of Lake Constance consist mainly of gravel but we also find some sandy shores in Rohrspitz, Austria.

When we explore this lake, we find many interesting facts. For Instance, there are 45 different species of fish are found in this fresh water lake, which brings annual haul of fishing around 1.5Million kg. Another interesting fact is that this lake is known as Centre for water sports. If you like water sports, you must visit this place at least once.

During 19^th century, there were five different local time zones around Lake Constance. Travelers had to follow five different time zones within 46km on this route. In 1891, Austrian Railways introduced CET time zone to overcome this issue, late on which was followed by Germany and Switzerland. In 1895, this problem was solved completely as CET became sole and valid time all around the Lake Constance.

When we plan to visit this beautiful lake, there are three different routes to visit as the Lake connects three different countries Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

If you are coming from the way of Switzerland to visit Lake Constance. You can easily travel from Zurich Airport to Lake Constance by using train, private car or taxi. If you are coming through train, you can reach the destination in 1:31mins, while if you are coming through private car or taxi, the distance is 63km and you can reach within 43mins.

If you are coming from Germany to visit Lake Constance. You can easily travel from Friedrichshafen Airport to the location of the Lake within 2hours by train. If you are coming by road through private car/taxi, you can reach the destination within 1hour while through boat you can reach the destiny in approximately 1 hour.

Constance Lake is situated in western most state of Austria that is Bregenz. If you are coming from Austria, You can easily travel from Bregenz to the location of the Lake within 1:51mins by train. If you are coming by road through private car/taxi, you can reach in 1:02mins while through Ferry you can reach the destiny in approximately 3:40mins.

According to German Researcher Alexandra Berghofer,

“For me, the most interesting city on Lake Constance is Constance. Through the history of the city alone, Constance was on the main trade routes to northern Italy, France and Eastern Europe. It was an important trading center for furs, linen and spices. It was the venue for a council in the 15th century. The most important church representatives from all European countries met there from 1414 to 1418. From the 6th century to 1827, Constance was one of the largest German bishopric. Important decisions were made there. Therefore, the city center has been given a wonderful medieval flair. The location on the lake gives the city a Mediterranean touch.“

“Friedrichshafen played a significant role in aviation history. The objects in the Zeppelin Museum show this in detail. It offers a good opportunity to do a wonderful bike tour. The city has a long history, dating back to the founding of the Alemannendorf Alt-Buchhorn in the 5th century. Before 1241 Buchhorn received city rights, around 1275 the status of an imperial city was added. The island of Mainau is a little gem. There was a pile dwelling settlement there as early as 3,000 BC, as found on the shores of the island. The German knights shaped this island for 500 years before it became an oasis. Now, this is an island with a variety of species. These species captivates the mind of every botanist and along with the simple gardener.”

(NOTE: We are thankful to the following resources that helped us in our research)

https://www.planetware.com/germany/lake-constance-d-bw-bod.htm

https://www.rome2rio.com/s/Bregenz/Konstanz

https://wikitravel.org/en/Konstanz

https://www.rome2rio.com/s/Zurich-Airport-ZRH/Werd-Lake-Constance

https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/travel/the-complete-guide-to-lake-constance-5333037.html

https://www.bodensee.eu/en